The grandmother of American conservation, Mardy Murie, once called the national parks our “best idea.” And this year, with foreign travel all but canceled, some of these celebrated domestic destinations have reached new heights of jam-packed popularity — and that, of course, presents challenges during a pandemic. Despite the breathing room offered by the Great…
Four Bedrooms and Boat Storage on Lake Thingvellir $795,000 (108 MILLION ICELANDIC KRONA) This four-bedroom summer house is perched on a green hill overlooking Lake Thingvellir, the largest lake in Iceland, in the rural southwest region of Grafningshreppur, about 30 miles east of Reykjavik. The 1.9-acre property sits among a cluster of summer houses along…
Last year, more than 31 million people visited the Caribbean, more than half of them from the United States. I was one of them. Together, we contributed $59 billion to the region’s 2019 gross domestic product — accounting for a whopping 50 to 90 percent of the G.D.P. for most of the countries, according to…
At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with travel restrictions in place worldwide, we launched a new series — The World Through a Lens — in which photojournalists help transport you, virtually, to some of our planet’s most beautiful and intriguing places. This week, Andria Hautamaki shares a collection of images from rural Patagonia. Known…
In cities across the country, ridership on public transportation has dropped precipitously as people have stayed home to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But for some, continuing to take mass transit was never optional. Many essential workers who cannot work remotely or don’t drive have continued to ride buses, trains and ferries; they…
The app led one person to a friendly dog in the desert and another to a field of wildflowers. One young woman, after making her college decision, followed the app to a field where her school’s initials had been mowed into the grass. And then there were the friends who followed the app to a…
Maureen Rayhill of Seattle sounds like a public health official as she describes the current process for coronavirus testing, rattling off research she’s done on in-person testing centers versus mail-order companies and how their turnaround times for results compare. But she’s not. She’s a mother, just trying to get her oldest child to college. The…
A Five-Bedroom Estate on the Coast of Nova Scotia $2 MILLION (2.75 MILLION CANADIAN DOLLARS) This five-bedroom seaside mansion with Atlantic Ocean views is perched on a headland jutting into Mahone Bay in the village of Chester, on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Designed by the Toronto-based architect James Wright and built in…
The inside of Virgin Galactic’s space plane is like a space-age executive jet. The seats recline to absorb the forces of acceleration toward space. Mood lighting shifts during each phase of the flight. Twelve windows — two for each of the six passengers, who have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each for a seat…
In a typical year, when the thick summer heat descends, you might plot an escape from everyday life. But this is not a typical year, and whether you’re trapped in your home office or on your couch, the urge to get away from it all is likely stronger than ever. A road trip — one…